Promise: Return to Silent Hill
by penguinfighter-d-chan
Summary: Second and final part to Promise; Wilson finds himself alone, dazed and in a car crash in a place he doesn't recognize. From there, he must survive excruciating trials, disturbing monsters all to remember: why was he in Silent Hill? Silent Hill C KONAMI
1. Regaining Consciousness

A/N: I'M BAAAAAAAAAACK! Did you guys miss me? Just kidding; welcome to the second and final part of the **Promise** storyline.

Yes, I did intend for a two parter. Whereas the first **Promise** took place only in PPTH, this one will be alternating between the hospital and the town of Silent Hill, to keep the **House MD** spirit alive! I also intend to make the puzzles more sadistic, the monsters as creepy and disturbing and the story with the twists and turns you, the reader, liked about the first one. Let's get started, shall we? Reviews are most welcome!

**DISCLAIMER: **Wilson (c) FOX, The Town (c) KONAMI

* * *

I Regaining Consciousness

_"I love this place ever since I was little…I wish I could come back here, with you." "You want come back here again?"_

_"__Yes."_

_"Ok then, we'll be back, I promise."_

The faint sound of a dying car rung into James Wilson's ears while his hands felt around what seemed like wet earth. His wrist was numbing, probably even broken; eyes shut with lulling laziness that comes after severe trauma. As he restored his sight, the smell of car exhaust and oil took over his senses. Once he got up, the oncologist found himself surrounded by smoke, luscious oaks and an impenetrable fog.

"Anyone there?" Wilson yelled out as he followed the trail of airborne cinders. After three minutes of stumbling along the shrouded trails, he found a burning car crashed into a solid oak tree. The doctor swept away some of the fumes and quickly assumed he had experienced an accident yet something didn't quite make sense.

_If I were driving, I'd be flung outwards from the left side…_Wilson thought as he attempted to recognize the car. The charring remains were almost nameless until he spotted a logo. "This isn't my car." He realized, this wasn't his Volvo but some other automobile that was now unrecognizable. He then scanned the environment; a thick forest that seemed endless and impenetrable due in part to the unrelenting fog. The doctor did however find the tire tracks that started up a small hill and ended in the crash.

"Might as well get up there and look for help." Wilson said to himself as he bandaged his wound. That's when he noticed he was still wearing his work clothes, as if this little side trip had interfered with his daily routine. "This is weird."

After two or three minutes of climbing, Wilson finally made it to the main road. Like the forest below, the wide street looked without beginning or end thanks to the atmospheric phenomenon. The doctor also found it desolate and ominous, no traffic nor human activity, just him and the cindering remains of what could had been his ride.

"HELLO? ANYONE THERE?" Wilson yelled out without response before deciding his next course of action. _Hitching a ride is apparently out of the question so I should just follow the road east…_he reasoned as he abandoned the crash and began walking.

The sense of oppression was magnified tenfold as every step sounded like too, as if the doctor was followed. He spun around but only road and fog greeted him; nothing was trailing him. After one and half grueling hours of walking down the eerily winding main street, Wilson spotted a road sign in the distance. "Finally!" he exclaimed as adrenaline fueled him along. Once he was there, he caught his breath before giving the signal a look. In rotting whitewashed wood read "WELCOME TO SILENT HILL, VA"

"Silent Hill?" Wilson read out loud, mesmerized at how far away he actually was from Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. Virginia was extraordinarily out of his normal routine back in New Jersey and he couldn't remember anyone that would require him to be there. The oncologist scratched his head; there had to be some mistake.

_Why the hell am I here?_ Wilson tried to reason. The moment the thought ran through his mind, the doctor felt slightly woozy. Once he regained composure, he decided to venture into the town named Silent Hill; maybe someone could help.


	2. The Long Road In

A/N: I'm really sorry I took so long to put up these!!! My old computer broke down plus I kind of got distracted. Reviews are welcome!

characters (c) FOX, Silent Hill (c) KONAMI

* * *

II- The Long Road In

Along the way on the main street, the oncologist once again tried to make sense of the why he was there; he couldn't remember the last time he had gone into a small town other than tourism. Wilson then noticed his iPhone and quickly dialed one Gregory House's number but all he got was a dead line tone. He then tried Cuddy's office phone and got the same response.

"Damn, can't get any reception here." Wilson muttered to himself as he put away the device. The desolation the street presented was further accentuated with the fall of white ashes, as the oncologist got closer to the first tollbooth gate and rest stop. With no one else present, Wilson hopped over the crossing guard and headed straight towards a rest room.

A quick peek inside and Wilson immediately choked; the stench of putrid organic materials, including blood for some reason, made the fact that he was searching for some bandages even more futile. _Better check the guardhouse; maybe I'll be able to call in…_he thought while heading westward. The guardhouse itself was a mess but a tolerable one as the doctor was able to tend to his wounds and make a splint for his wrist.

"Ok, now that that's settled, let's see where the hell am I." Wilson stated while rummaging the desk's contents. After a minute or two of searching, he came across a road map that located him in the Paleville County route, with two more gates to go. He also found a small radio and for unknown circumstances, a loaded gun. He stared intently at the weapon for a moment, with a momentary lapse of curiosity of how the barrel felt against his temple. Wilson quickly rgained composure and focused on the map. "Well, I'm here and the nearest medical facility is Brookhaven Hospital some 15 minutes on foot so I'd best head there and call Cuddy." The oncologist thought out loud as he put the radio and gun in his lab coat pocket.

_This all seems so familiar for some reason…_Wilson surmised, exiting the rest area as fast as possible. He felt as if he had done this before, a rather strange déja-vu. He also grabbed a can of soda, a snack and a first-aid kit to hold him off for the next two stops until he finally reached Silent Hill.

The walk was exhausting yet unnerving as the doctor could hear the patter of feet behind him, even though he had clearly established the fact that he was alone. The fog had become constant and capable of echo, bellowing out the subtle white noise. At the next gate, Wilson made no attempts at making a pit stop and proceeded onwards while a memory crept up in his mind…

"_I never meant for any of that to happen…I just felt so mad about (static)." Wilson heard himself talk to someone while he ate lunch. The response was garbled but he seemed to understand; the mysterious person with him made him at ease._

"_So, what do we do now?" "We do what we can." The other person responded, its voice a mixture of everyone the oncologist ever knew._

At the last tollbooth gate, Wilson tried once more to make contact with PPTH's Dean of Medicine but his phone couldn't pick up any signal. "Wonder how my patients are doing?" he mused out loud as he stocked up on anything edible. _Mr. Pollack should be in chemo by now…_Then his thoughts shifted into a more sarcastic tone when he asked himself, "What would House be doing right about now?" _Must be hell back home with House on the loose…_

But he was smacked back into reality when he spotted a splattering red trail along his route to the town entrance. "Whoa." The building seemed to be undergoing some renovations as black plastic bags, railings and scrap materials were scattered about. The only way into the area was a small rickety screen door that looked just as unstable as the structure itself. On his right, Wilson could see a massive lake that divided the nearing town into two.

The blood trail inside followed Wilson in as he found a desk to locate himself. He tried the office phone but its connections were severed, torn off the wall. "I should still be in the Paleville rte, meaning town is about five more minutes from here." Suddenly, he heard a clear sprint of static noise. _Radio's going off,_ He thought as he finally entered the town.


	3. A Surprise Call

A/N: Now that my regular classes are over, I can now focus on my writing. Hopefully this one sends a bit of insight to you the readers...Reviews are welcome!

characters (C) FOX, SH (c) KONAMI

* * *

III- A Surprise Call

Wilson expected a bustling town, with people and cars moving about; he didn't expect his crushing desolation to double once he entered and found it abandoned. Cars parked alongside empty crosswalks, shops in various state of disarray; the oncologist had never seen something like this. Another memory suddenly resurfaced, but this one wasn't as pleasant as the last one.

_Familiar streets were covered in rust and blood, as human beings were ripped apart and devoured by unseen forces. But the worst part was the fact that this nightmarish world seemed incredibly real; he knew that place._

Back in the real world, the doctor regained his composure and took out his map. He was located in the Tourist Section of Silent Hill, besides Toluca Lake, along Nathan Avenue. _According to this map, there should be a gas station around here; I can ask for a ride back into the interstate and go from there._ Wilson reasoned eager to get to somewhere useful for once. But the doctor's hopes for any assistance were dashed once he spotted a blood pool just underneath the station's shop door. Slumped against the door was a mangled corpse of what used to be a man, its entrails spilt all over the floor.

Wilson drew back, repulsed at the sight. "What the hell happened here?!" he yelled in horror as he stumbled on to another decimated body trapped under a car. In that instant, the radio he was carrying went off in a wild mess of static noises for no good reason. Just as he was about to throw the object to the ground, the doctor spotted a moving shadow across the fog.

"Hey!" The shadow twitched in response and turned to face the doctor. The sense of déjà-vu took over once more as the creature revealed its deformed self. House's voice rang true in Wilson's mind with the word _Straightjacket_; the creature was a writhing mess of skin, blood and other tissues, gastric acid dribbling over the hole that was his mouth. The monster quickly gained ground, lounging towards where the sounds were coming from. In confusion and survival, Wilson drew out his newly found gun and fired three shots at it.

Two out of three bullets hit vital areas, causing the straightjacket to drop onto the floor. The body continued convulsing until the oncologist broke its neck by fatally stomping it. "This isn't happening!" Wilson mustered up, now covered in blood. But just as he was about to clean himself; his cell phone rang true, almost scaring the life out of him.

Wilson nervously fiddled with the device until he was able to receive the call. "H-hello?" "Wilson! Where the hell have you been?" Lisa Cuddy's shrill voice scolded him, bringing some sort of relief to the poor doctor. "I haven't got the slightest idea; one minute I'm tending to some paperwork, next I find myself stuck in a car accident all the way in Virginia of all places!"

He could practically picture Cuddy's resignation when he heard a sigh. "A little out of your way for a vacation? Anyways, I just wanted to know if you had any idea where House was; he's extraordinarily late and he's not responding to any calls." The comment caught Wilson off-guard, "He's not in Princeton-Plainsboro?"

Over at the hospital, Lisa shrugged as she once again checked Clinic records. "In fact House hasn't reported in a while. I thought you knew something I didn't know." By now, the Dean of Medicine had chalked the diagnostician's absence to his usual antics but the fact that Wilson had no idea where House was a bit unsettling. Before she could inquire any further, a chilling gasp of static prompted her to hang up the phone.

Back in Silent Hill, all Wilson heard was the click of a hung phone without so much as a goodbye. Hoping to get lucky again, Wilson redialed the phone only to hear the dead tone once more. "What the hell?" Out of the corner of his eye, the oncologist spotted a feathery vision of a blonde woman. But just as he spun around to see her, she sprinted off.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!" Wilson exclaimed as he chased the mysterious woman down the isolated streets and into an alley full of warehouses. Once he cornered the woman, the doctor allowed himself to catch his breath. "Can you help me?" he heaved as he lined his eyesight with her. He got a surprise of a lifetime when he recognized the woman's features.

"Amber?" Was the last thing Wilson said before he felt a sharp burst of pain on the back of his head and blacked out. The woman's head motioned the shadows as she dissipated into the walls.


	4. Stupor

A/N: Back again with this chapter, hopefully getting into the puzzle aspects of the fic. Cookie to whoever figures this monster out! Reviews are welcome!

characters (c) FOX, Silent Hill (c) KONAMI

* * *

IV- Stupor

Wilson jump-started awake from the strangest dream he'd had in ages. He was lying on his office sofa; House mockingly glaring at him. "Another minute and I would've called in the morgue guys…damn."

"House? Where have you been?! Cuddy called me worried out of her wits about you!" the oncologist sat up with an annoyed look on his face. "Oh that…we'll deal with the Buxom One later, now what's this about fainting?" the diagnostician remarked. "I fainted? When?" James reacted surprised, he couldn't remember blacking out. "You did right after I told you about me slipping endorphins into Mr. Pollack's IVs. You were in the middle of scolding me like I was a child and then boom! You're on the floor." House explained nonchalantly as he popped a Vicodin.

"Oh…" Wilson was about to call off House when he noticed something weird; House's sleeves were charred. But just as he was about to comment on the observation, Greg chuckled then smiled lopsidedly before saying in a barely inaudible tone, "Wake up, Jimmy."

-----------

A menacing headache and the strange feeling of cold metal finally awoke the unconscious Wilson. He found himself wrapped in bloody leather straps, the smell of death concentrated so closely to him. Wilson was strapped to a blood-soaked surgical table in a claustrophobically small and dark room; piles of body parts covered in bugs, specifically flies and centipedes, rotted in every corner visible. Bright lights temporarily blinded the possible victim, causing excruciating paranoia.

A metallic grating sound reverberated within the stained walls, aggravating the fear that ran through Wilson's body. A medium-sized figure slowly walked out of the shadows, scrapping its hands against the structure. "Who's my patient today?" a wheezy grunt emanated from the shadow as it drew closer into the concentrated illumination. The supposed caretaker was what seemed like a man dressed in green surgical scrubs, his features concealed by a mask made of a rotting pig's face.

Wilson began hyperventilating as the monster raised its weapon of choice; a scalpel that glistened with the gore of its previous victims. Unable to evade whatever would be thrown at him; the oncologist's panic took over and began screaming for help once the surgeon held his head still. "Hold still." the creature groaned just before raising the knife and aiming straight into Wilson's right eye. The oncologist tried reaching for the gun in his pocket but he knew he'd never have enough time.

By miraculous chance, the monster was distracted by a noise and turned around. The brief reprieve allowed Wilson to acquire his weapon and fire once more. By the recoil produced, the surgeon dropped the scalpel and receded in hissing pain. Wilson used the small knife to free himself as fast as he could and tackle the man into submission. Then the normally level-headed doctor let his adrenaline take over and proceeded to savagely beat the pig-faced man.

The attack was only stopped when Wilson caught a glimpse of his bloody hands and came to his senses. "What the hell is wrong with me?" he breathed, exhausted. The oncologist then turned to what would've been his killer. The monster twitched, just like the straightjacket before, as it lay on the floor. Wilson suddenly heard his own voice whisper in his mind, "Take off his mask."

Slowly, the oncologist removed the putrid object and quickly regretted it for underneath the mask was a charred skull with chunks of blonde hair still stuck to it. But what struck Wilson the most was the fact that this was the second time he had seen such an atrocious sight. "Dear God." The monster suddenly sprang back to life and taking advantage of the distraction, crawled away into the darkness.

Realizing he was no longer in immediate danger, Wilson found a door and stepped outside. By the look of the dilapidated condition of the beds and railings, the doctor assumed that he was in a hospital. The worn down floor plan down the hall read "BROOKHAVEN HOSPITAL". "That's about fifteen minutes from the gas station I was attacked in…"

Wilson tried to escape in the conventional sense but found himself locked in by a most disturbing mechanism: three mannequins' heads were held up by a closed door, all with the same facial expression but missing different structures. "What the?" the oncologist spat out before noticing a very familiar rhyme written on the wall: _See no evil, Speak no evil, Hear no evil and thou shall pass_.

_Whoever dragged me here wants to play puzzles with me?!_ James couldn't believe it but nonetheless he decided to follow the rhyme. _So I have to find two hopefully plastic eyes, a tongue and a pair of ears to get the hell out of here…that's not so bad_, he reasoned as he picked up a nearby hospital map. Just like In Princeton-Plainsboro, Brookhaven was divided by floors and by specialties. In an almost déjà-vu like trance, Wilson checked off the Operating Room and the lobby doors and circled his priorities: Optometry and the Free Clinic.

_Better check the Free Clinic first_…The doctor concluded. His determination was quickly shot down by the fact that once he checked his gun, he found it empty. "Shit!" Wilson berated himself; he had wastefully consumed all of the weapon's ammunition and now needed a new way to defend himself until he could find more. A sudden burst of radio noise also confirmed he wasn't alone in the building. Taking no chances, Wilson grabbed a nearby plumbing pipe and headed off to his objective.

But after half an hour of searching through every nook and cranny of the Clinic area, the oncologist sat down defeated on an examination bed. There wasn't a single medical model to be found. "I can't believe I just wasted my time on this…" Wilson groaned to himself; he could practically hear House laughing at him for being so stupid.

_House…wait a minute! Is House here? Is that why I'm in this place?_ Wilson thought for a moment then shook the notion away. "House can handle himself. I'm willing to bet that he's already shown up and done something unbelievably stupid back at work." He comforted out loud prior to finding a discarded memo that read:

_Patient #453; continuous supervision due aggressive behavior towards others, belongings are located in box #12-Psych Ward num. 3. Items included: 1 pocket knife, wallet, among others._

"Guess that's where I'm headed…" Wilson thought as he left the decrepit area. To avoid any unnecessary confrontations, the oncologist went up two floors through the emergency stairs and turned right when he arrived at the Psychiatric Evaluation and Treatment Ward.


	5. Memory Lane

A/N: Posting again!!! This was a bit complex to write 'cause of all the developments in the last season of _House_ (which in retrospect, helped with this). This one ends in a cliffhanger so I won't e taking too long to update! Reviews are welcome; characters (C) FOX, Silent Hill (C) KONAMI  


* * *

V- Memory Lane

The Psych ward in a state far worse than what Wilson had seen up until then: the floor was covered in bits and scales of the peeling ceiling above while metal structures were scattered around, rust gradually breaking down their foundations. The walls themselves were covered in rambling passages of their former patients, written in whatever material they could find. But as the oncologist read on, one particular writer caught his attention with two passages inscribed in permanent marker:

_That place…was it ever real? The people that died in there, they stayed there. I never imagined such a horrible place to ever exist, but it does! It comes and goes with that wretched sound, heralding decay and death…whoever dreamed such a world deserves to be here more than I…_

_I want to stay here, away from him; I can't risk it! My medication is running low and I can hear them laughing already…If I ever came back home, I'd be dead anyways… he will find me and put me out of my miserable existence._

"Someone needs more help than they're getting," James remarked, feeling pity for the poor soul who wrote the message. At the foot of the same wall, however, was the first part of the puzzle, a plastic tongue. _One down, two to go_. Down the decrepit halls was the Patient Belongings Room, looking as if someone had already ransacked and practically destroyed it. The oncologist wasted no time and searched for Patient #453's box through the clutter, making sure to find the #12 tag. Once he found it and opened it, Wilson recoiled in disgust, in the Zip-Lock bag was a bloodied pocket knife and two mummified ears. "Please let the eyes be plastic…" he prayed as he put the small bag in his back pocket.

A loud desperate wail resounded across the Psych ward hall, causing everything inside to vibrate. "What the hell?!" the oncologist exclaimed as he determined the sound's origin; Room 12, the room that coincided with the item box he just emptied. Wilson quietly stood up from the floor and tiptoed his way to the nearby chamber. He lined his eyesight to the small slit on the reinforced door and peeked inside.

The room was lined with writing and pictures pasted to its walls, GO HOME written in fresh blood. At the corner however, there hung a corpse swaying by its own weight. Unable to look away, Wilson watched horrified as the body twitched and slowly turned to face him before he sprinted out in horror to avoid eye contact.

Once he was far away, the oncologist took a breather and tried to make sense of what happened in the ward. _This isn't real, this isn't real…_he repeated over and over to comfort himself from the horrid sequence of events. _All I need is the eyes and I'm out of here!_ Wilson assured as he went down the same flight of stairs one floor short.

Optometry shared the same floor as the in-house Laboratory and Pediatrics so it didn't take long for the oncologist to find the plastic eye within a mannequin. But the one thing that struck Wilson the worst was how he found the ears: they were attached to a bloody Mr. Potato Head over at one of the childish examination rooms. _Whoever had this last put up a fight…?_

Wilson then sped down the emergency stairs once more over to the main entrance where the three heads stood out and quickly solved the puzzle before any monster had the chance to attack him. The glorious sound of the door clicking open brought the distraught doctor much needed relief as he stepped once again into the fog-ridden town.

"I'm finally out but now what the hell am I supposed to do?" Wilson tried to reason as he sat down in a nearby bench to collect his thought. "This has to be a nightmare." "Hey!" A male voice called out from the fog, startling the oncologist to the brink of a heart attack. _That voice…Now I know I'm dreaming!_ He thought while trying to discern the sound's origin. The mystery man took a couple of strides over to Wilson and greeted him with a smile. "Thank God I found you, Dr. Wilson!" Dr. Lawrence Kutner exclaimed, wiping some sweat from his brow.

The oncologist was flabbergasted to say the least when he saw the man in the flesh. "Kutner, what are you doing here?!" An unearthly shriek vibrated between the two men, prompting Kutner to say, "Can we talk somewhere safer? I don't exactly have my meat cleaver right now and you look like shit."

00000

Over at Pete's Bowl-o-Rama, Wilson hung his head between his hands while Kutner served up a couple of drinks. "Man, that House is a piece of work," he said as he handed the oncologist a warm pint, "Sorry, this place doesn't have any electric power other than the lights and some other things." The doctor took the drink gladly and swallowed a hearty gulp. "Kutner, what are you doing here?" The Sports Medicine doctor rolled his eyes slightly as he explained, "House decided it'd be a laugh to send all the way here to check on a patient a couple of weeks ago. My car broke down and I haven't been able to get back since."

Wilson choked on the beer for a bit and quickly interrupted the man. "Not that…how is it that you are even alive?" Kutner's face demonstrated confusion at such a weird question. "Why wouldn't I be alive?" The memory was still fresh in the oncologist's mind; the stained bed sheets had been washed long ago. "You killed yourself three weeks ago: shot to the head." "Why the hell would I do that? Is this some kind of a joke?" the younger doctor argued, not at all amused by Wilson's antics. "You know what, forget it. Maybe this place is playing tricks on your mind."

Still unconvinced, Wilson agreed and continued, "So what was it that House wanted you to do in a place like this?" "Actually, he wanted me to check on a patient's medical history; symptoms include migraines, fainting, and hallucinations among others." Kutner responded as he handed the oncologist a folder in which the actual patient's name was blotted out. After a quick read, Wilson then concluded, "This patient is on the early stages of dementia, possibly schizophrenic but by the looks of things, it's treatable."

A note slipped out of the file that read, _Rosewater Park, East Lot_. "Interesting, I've been there a bunch of times and I haven't spotted anything unusual." Kutner remarked as he picked up the scrap of paper. _That's the thing; from what I've seen, what is defined as 'unusual' is in the eye of the beholder_…Wilson thought as he observed his fellow doctor's every move. _He seems very much alive…maybe the last few weeks have been just a bad dream._

Just as he finished that thought, a pang of pain struck Wilson's heart, causing another lapse of unconsciousness…

_House was wondering aimlessly around Princeton-Plainsboro; his flashlight hovered over his viable hand. He looked as if he had finally seen death in the eye, trapped forever in the void. Wilson couldn't shake off the sensation that it was his fault…_

_House then turned to face the man, his bloodshot eyes contradicting his manic grin, and said; "Don't you dare forget, Jimmy."_

Kutner shook Wilson until he returned from the memory. "Dr. Wilson, are you ok?" Still holding the note in his hand, the oncologist made up his mind and decided to see what was so important that it required sneaking a note in a patient file. _Maybe it's the same entity that put me in the hospital in the first place. _"I'm fine but we have to get to Rosewater Park as fast as we can," he responded while standing up and readying his pipe.

Along the way to the destination, the two doctors encountered their share of straight-jacket monsters, as if they wanted to divert their attentions back to survival. Once at the front gate of Rosewater Park, Kutner's attitude changed drastically, from his usual straightforward humor to reclusive and withdrawn when he said, "I can't go in there."

"What are you talking about? You said you've been here more than once-" Wilson began when Lawrence cut in with, "I lied." "What do you mean 'you lied'?" Kutner took two steps away from the structure, eyes unable to meet Wilson's as he continued, "I know I'm dead but even then I couldn't see what I saw again…something evil is in there and I don't want to hold myself responsible for what happens to you when you see it for yourself…I'm sorry." The man-turned-specter then turned his back on his former co-worker, all the while repeating "I'm sorry" until he was out of earshot. "Kutner, wait!" Wilson yelled as the crushing isolation once again surrounded him.

With nowhere else to go, the oncologist decided to continue on to the East Parking lot, to follow the mysterious note. The East lot was enclosed by a metal fence, isolated from the rest of the park. The radio went insane with static as Wilson destroyed the rusted lock with a couple of swings. Just like Patient #453's ward, the fence was covered in newspaper print and blood, all saying the same thing: GO HOME. "I'm not leaving without some answers!" Wilson stated as he entered the innermost part of the lot.

What followed delivered a devastating blow to James' psyche, making him trip and fall in despair. Kutner's ghost was right…something truly maleficent was there. Looking at him, tied in barbed wire with empty eye sockets and a Glasgow smile was the dismembered top half of Gregory House.


	6. Child's Play

A/N: Another (slightly) chapter up! This one is heavily influenced by another excelent psychological horror game called _Rule of Rose_ so go ahead and play it if you have the chance! Wilson enters for the Otherworld for the first time as his journey takes a turn even more disturbing than the last. Reviews are welcome! Characters (c) FOX, Silent Hill and the Otherworld (c) KONAMI  


* * *

VII- Child's Play

James Wilson was a grown man but seeing House's organs slowly spill onto the floor broke him to tears. He was about to touch the murdered doctor until he felt someone nudge his shoulder. In that instant, he opened his eyes for real and realized he had collapsed from apparent exhaustion.

"What the fuck?" he exclaimed when he saw that although the newspapers and the writings were still there, the only evidence that House's body had even been hung there was a large bloodstain. Instead, he heard a small boy's laughter resonate throughout the parking walls. He then heard the boy yell, "Get him!" Suddenly, two shadows crept up from the darkness and shackled themselves to Wilson's arms and legs then dragged him away, screaming in terror.

The oncologist reemerged from the ground, kneeling in front of a small brown-haired boy with no eyes and a smirk sitting on a throne of body parts. "I found a rat, daddy! A big, fat one!" the boy sneered at Wilson with no pity whatsoever to an emaciated corpse of an older man in a formal naval uniform. "What should I do this one? Should I skewer it or burn it alive? Or maybe I can drown it…nah, takes too long. Besides I already have a mermaid, so why would I need a mer-rat?"

James was horrified at the degree of violence this child had against 'rats' but in the back of his mind, he knew the identity of the boy. The "Daddy" figure uttered a groan, as if to discipline the boy, enraging the child to no end, causing him to smack the corpse with a bat. "Who cares what you think? You never let me do anything!" The boy then commanded his shadows to wrap a potato bag over Wilson's head.

_Wait a minute…only one person has ever called me a rat…complete disregard to authority…_

"Oh, grow up House!" Wilson shouted, paralyzing the sadistic child. Even though he had no eyeballs in his sockets, James could sense the rage and interestingly enough glee from the ghastly boy. "Make me." House grinned as he grabbed a knife from his Abstract Daddy and hovered it over the potato sack. "Besides, you are definitely the last person who should be telling me this." With a hand signal, the specters under his command tossed the oncologist into a wooden coffin and closed it. "See you around, Jimmy."

00000

The ride to where Wilson's makeshift grave only took ten minutes but those was the longest in the poor man's life. The familiar hiss of the straight-jackets was heard along with a new sound: a rattle. But what was really in the oncologist's mind was the fact that House was here. "I'm here to rescue him." Wilson concluded inside his claustrophobic prison. _The question then becomes: why did he come here in the first place?_

Once the coffin was dropped, Wilson knew he would be buried alive but the sounds of shoveling or movement of dirt were never heard. The dissipating sounds of the straight-jackets further added to the notion that the Texas funeral was just a hoax, albeit a terrifying one. Once the oncologist was convinced that it was safe, he slowly opened the lid looked around; he was in the center of the park, not in a cemetery as he expected. A small white rose covered in dried blood laid besides the shallow hole with a note that read in a child's handwriting, "They are here."

'_They' seem like people House fears…and that's saying something, _Wilson thought as he climbed out of his grave and dusted himself. Suddenly, an air raid siren wailed, temporarily deafening Wilson's ears. The ground shook under his feet as the fog lifted itself and the park, along with everything else in the town began peeling off its skin and revealing a hell composed of blood, rust and wires…just like House's mangled corpse. The memory jogged itself awake as James whispered in horror where he was, "The Otherworld."

Wilson remembered having nightmares about being trapped in that place; nightmares that would leave him sweating and gasping for air. This was a place that was simultaneously new yet familiar to him; the blood seeping into the grave and the roar of unknown monsters lurking in the shadows were sounds that he had heard sometime before. But the doubt remained as he ran towards the exit; who was the 'they' the child House was referring to?

Once out of Rosewater Park, Wilson saw in the corner of his eye Kutner's decaying corpse laying against a tree, meat cleaver on hand and "BLUE CREEK 207" written on his lab coat. Before Wilson could take the cleaver from the dead man, Kutner grabbed his hand and stated in a deathly voice, "Your fault." The body let out one last breath before looking up to a hole within the tree. Inside the hole was a box of handgun ammunition, allowing Wilson to regain use of the weapon. _Thank you, Kutner,_ the oncologist expressed wordlessly as he checked his map and spotted his next objective: Blue Creek Apartments.


	7. Death of Ideals

A/N: Next chapter is up! The line between what's real and what's not for Wilson is getting blurry by the chapter but this thing is far from over. Reviews are welcome! characters (c) FOX, Silent Hill/Otherworld (c) KONAMI

* * *

VII- Death of Ideals

The Otherworld made an already unsettling atmosphere downright terrifying as the straight-jackets now seemed to be rotting from the inside out. Armed with Kutner's meat cleaver and his gun, Wilson did his best to avoid the monsters while locating the apartment complex. As he chopped off a straight-jacket's head off, the oncologist had yet to remember what exactly his fault was.

Blue Creek Apartments was a structure that, due to the hellish dimension, appeared to be unstable to say the least. After climbing over the wire fence, Wilson quickly noticed that the main entrance was wide open, as if inviting him in. "What do you want me to see?" he asked the building, unsure what his reply would be. All the oncologist got was an inaudible whisper of the child…or was it a woman? Whatever it was, it made James realize how severely his visibility had dropped to near zero; night time seemed eternal in the Otherworld.

Taking a leap of faith, Wilson entered the building gung-ho, revolver brandished and ready to fire. The front desk was lit up by an immovable desk light; its contents strewn about, again replicating the ransacked sensation. On top of the bloody desk was a brochure of the building complex and a paper written in House's scrawl:

_I take it you don't like __me__ very much these days,_

_But who are __you__ to say right and wrong?_

_There is only the truth and then there's __my truth__._

_OFF__ WITH YOUR HEAD! The Queen says._

_Find the surprise in the Seamstress' Room, they're always watching._

_The mysterious 'they' again_, Wilson argued as he circled the corresponding room and began looking for its key. The building's key ring, as the oncologist found out through a nearby memo, had been taken by the janitor up to Room 303 with no flashlight to speak of. "On the plus side, there's a supply closet near the second floor so that wouldn't be too much a-" Wilson's train of thought was paralyzed by the sound of a guttural rattle from the darkness, making the man take off to the flight of stairs to get to "safer" ground.

Wilson extended his arms and felt around and after shifting through the brittle walls and disgustingly filthy surfaces, he found the supply closet. By chance, he noticed his iPhone hadn't rung in quite the while, removing the bit of comfort of being able to communicating with anyone back home. _Might as well use whatever's left of the battery…_he thought as he turned it on to find the ubiquitous flashlight.

The small light was enough to find the item and its batteries, but Wilson swiftly regretted switching the device while still inside the closet. As the doctor scanned the area, liquid dropped on his shoulder, causing him to instinctively point up and come face to face to a monstrous image: a woman was held up by fishing hooks as her rib cage was cracked open while her Aquarian lower half was displayed as the catch of the day. The message was not for Wilson but for House as it read in the deceased creature's blood:

"WE KILLED YOUR STACY, YOU'RE NEXT"

"Stacy?!" The mermaid jolted a new memory from James' unconscious; he knew her well. _You left her in the Operating Room, remember? To eat anyone who got too close…just like mermaids do, _a malevolent voice said just inches of the oncologist's ears, startling him. "Who's there?" Wilson asked but got no answer. Overstaying his welcome, Wilson scurried off to the third floor before any more surprised came up.

Room 303 was the only room on the Otherworld that was unlocked so the oncologist sneaked inside. The janitor's tools were laid to waste as his body rotted away in a corner; the key ring reflected what dim light was in the hellish room. Wilson carefully extracted the ring from the corpse and before he left, placed his bloody doctor's jacket over the dead man.

The air raid siren sounded off a bit too early and too loud, knocking Wilson out cold but not rest…

00000

He was back in PPTH, now just coming out of a MRI scan in an empty examination room. "Where am I?" "We needed to check your head, you idiot." House's voice filled the room. "We had to sedate you; you were ranting uncontrollably about monsters, tongues and who knows what." Wilson remained unconvinced and demanded, "Show your face."

The intercom scoffed as he replied, "Now you're paranoid? Well, considering the brain damage, it's expected." "B-brain damage?" the oncologist could hardly believe those words. House's voice was heavy when he concluded, "You suffered a relapse..." _Relapse?! What the hell are you talking about?!_

Suddenly Wilson heard House and Cuddy's voice arguing, "House, you're insane! Whatever this is, we can deal with it here! You are proposing a risk I'm not willing to-" The dream went black as Wilson woke up, still trapped in Silent Hill, as more questions plagued his mind.

The Otherworld had receded for the time being, transforming Room 303 and the rest of the town, back to its fog-ridden self, taking the janitor's corpse with it. "House said I had a relapse of some kind before I came here…is that what he and Kutner were referring to? " he asked himself, then was reminded of the nameless patient chart and came up with an identity… "Am I going insane?"


	8. Cuddy's Mannequin

A/N: Sorry for the delay! Classes starting plus I finished one of the longest fics I've had to finish in another fandom. Sorry for how brief this chapter is but it's a transition. Reviews are welcome! Don't worry, we'll get a boss or two soon. DISCLAIMER: House (C) FOX, Silent Hill (C) KONAMI

* * *

VIII-Cuddy's Mannequin

Wilson fell to the floor of Room 303, distraught by the possibility of losing his mind. Yet, he knew that everything that had happened up until then was very real. "I am not insane," he told himself as he picked up his lab coat and wrapped it around his waist. _But House was…_ House. The reception memo read of a surprise in the Seamstress' Room but the oncologist was cautious of his best friend's antics; even in his unconscious dreams, the diagnostician remained as vague as ever. Still, his image brought in much-needed answers so James chose to see this through.

The Seamstress' Room was on the second floor of the apartment complex and much to Wilson's chagrin, the janitor's key ring had no corresponding key to it. But hope wasn't completely lost as a small puzzle was left behind which read;

_Instead of a kid, place the bishop where the checkmate becomes inevitable._

Laid in front of the oncologist was a chess game already in progress, with the white king being safeguarded by a rook and a queen. Only two pieces weren't magnetically stuck to the box: a black pawn and the bishop, just like the riddle said it would. _I can only move these two to make the box open…_ Wilson thought when he spotted an exploitable breach in the white side's defense. He then took the pawn and placed it in a position that eliminated the queen and placed the bishop just beyond the rook's reach so to cause an automatic checkmate.

The chess ground clicked open, revealing the key to Room 207 otherwise known as the Seamstress's Room. "Time to see what House's surprise is," Wilson said to himself while removing the safety from his gun. As the oncologist went down the stairs, he could hear the same rattle he had heard a couple of times by then but stronger, causing chills to go up Wilson's spine.

Room 207 was laid to waste with blood and claw marks but unlike the other rooms, this one had a tragic theme: many doll parts were arranged in various grotesque positions. In the center of the room was a headless mannequin dressed in a soiled wedding dress. Wilson kneeled besides the doll's head on the floor and picked it up; its facial features and hair were arranged to look like a person both he and House recognized: Lisa Cuddy. "What the hell?"

Suddenly, Wilson spotted movement just beyond the reach of his flashlight. His pocket radio went haywire with static, warning him of a monster's presence. Evidently, two pairs of women's legs sewn together at the hips sprang to life and hobbled their way to the doctor's position, menacing to strangle him to death. In response, Wilson fired three shots to the abomination in order to kill it. As what he dubbed 'Lady Legs' squirmed on the ground, Wilson stomped on its back, severing their lifeline with a foul crack.

"House, this isn't funny…where are you?!" the younger doctor asked the dark room, knowing that his friend would listen. "Why are you doing this to me?!" "Because…you started it," House whispered into Wilson's ears. "I had to clean up for you," the disembodied voice added as the diagnostician materialized by replacing Wilson's reflection in a nearby mirror.

But by the time the oncologist realized his presence, House limped away from the surface. "Then let me help you! Please, for the love of God, don't go!" he pleaded with the mirror, watching Greg walk away. "You idiot; get out while you still can," House coldly spat back as he tossed away a piece of scrap paper before finally disappearing for the time being.

Back on the flip side of the mirror, Wilson picked up the piece of paper and read it to himself;

_Go home Wilson…I mean it._

"What could he be talking about?" No sooner had those words exited Wilson's mouth when he heard a woman scream. _Amber?! _That sound was unmistakable; the victim was indeed Amber Volakis being attacked by two straightjackets and carnivorous centipedes. James ran out of the Blue Creeks Apartments and quickly murdered the monsters, completely disregarding the note.

"Amber, are you all right?" Wilson asked as he helped his once dead girlfriend stand up. "Yeah, I'm fine but…how do you know my name?" the blonde doctor replied, much to the oncologist's surprise. "You don't remember me? It's me, Wilson!" he continued to try to jog her memory with facts only he'd know about her. "Look stranger, I don't know how you know all that about me but I've never seen you in my life! I've never been to Princeton-Plainsboro nor have I met someone named House!"

The happiness that brought seeing Amber again wore thin as Wilson reminded himself about Kutner…_He died back home but he lives here; maybe there's a way to get Amber back!_ But before he could continue, Amber grabbed his right arm and said, "You're not going to leave me alone in a place like this, are you?" Wilson smiled softly as he responded, "I'm not leaving you alone…never again."


	9. Intermission

A/N: Posting again! Once again sorry this chapter's so short but now that this curve ball's in the mix, Wilson has a choice: save Amber or listen to House? Writing the Child House is fun...Reviews are welcome! characters (C) FOX, Silent Hill (C) KONAMI

* * *

IX- Intermission

Wilson was ecstatic to say the least as he and Amber caught up with each other but he had to be careful of what he said to her. _She doesn't know she's dead so I have a chance of getting her home,_ he hoped. "So why are you here?" Volakis asked as they walked along the main street. "Actually, I don't know myself. I simply woke up in a car accident just outside of town; I don't remember much before that," the oncologist replied with utmost honesty; maybe House knew more than what he was letting on.

"And this 'House', he seems like someone who gets his way a lot; how come you two are still friends?" Amber continued, suddenly resembling her old self for a split moment. "Uh, we have a mutual understanding," Wilson answered caught off-guard by the question. Amber rolled her eyes before adding, "He doesn't sound like he agrees with that 'understanding'. My mother told me that if something goes bad, you have to nip at the bud."

"You, on the other hand, sound like a pushover," she shot back snidely, causing James to chuckle. "Maybe I am…anyways, we should try to get out of here before nightfall or the monsters will have a field day with us," he said when Amber suddenly slapped him across the face. Her demeanor had shifted dramatically from blissfully unaware to contempt, "We're facing monsters that can kill us and all you can do is let yourself be pushed around?! This is life or death, James!" she exclaimed while frantically pointing to the shadows that stood against the fog.

"What the hell? Amber, what's wrong with you? We're just making small talk!" the oncologist remarked; the argument had no sense at all. _Kutner behaved in the same bipolar manner so it must be a side effect_, he analyzed as best as he could. Amber then reverted back into a more civil tone when she said "I'm so sorry…but you don't know what it's like to be here for too long. I've been stuck in this place without so much as a hint as to why for the last few months, surviving as best as I can."

_She's afraid of outside contact_, James assumed with a heavy heart; acting on the primal instinct to live had done its fair share of blows to his brain as well. "Maybe I can help you; do you know any place with a working telephone?" he requested. "Not really, there's a phone that keeps ringing at all hours over by the Ridgeway Clinic but the road's blocked so the fastest way to get there is to cross the Pet Center store then enter the St. Stella church and cross the Fire Station." Amber replied to Wilson's relief.

"So why didn't you just go in and answer it?" "Trust me, I've tried but the whole building's locked. Plus I heard some weird noises come from inside so I tend to avoid it," the formerly dead woman concluded. _I would've done the same_, Wilson shrugged, _but at least we have a starting point_.

As the pair walked down the street, the specter of possible insanity reappeared in the oncologist's thoughts. _She's not real…_he concluded; people don't come back from the dead just because. Noting his untrusting look, Amber instinctively grabbed his hand, as if to reassure him of her existence throughout the miserable town. "Let's try to get out of here together and maybe we can remember all those things all over again," she said with a calm smile. With a breath of new air, Wilson said, "We'll do that…I promise."

Meanwhile, the eyeless child that was House glared down on the couple from atop a tree, his Abstract Daddy at his side as well as his faithful shadow monsters. "Daddy, why does Jimmy do the opposite of what I tell him?" he inquired with a caustic tone to his voice. The corpse rattled but unlike the last time, House didn't retaliate; he simply grimaced. A lone tear slid down his face as the ghastly boy argued, "But they'll take him and then they'll kill him! If he was going to die anyways, I should have just done it myself!"

The shadows contorted around the sad little boy and asked him what his desire was. The boy instantly snapped back to his cynical smile and exclaimed before he burst into manic laughter, "Bring me their heads on a platter!"


	10. The Pet Stop

A/N: Double update! If you noticed faster but more consistent writing, blame my organize-everything compulsion XD Wilson chooses to save Amber but what consequences does this bring? Reviews are welcome! characters (C) FOX, Silent Hill (C) KONAMI  


* * *

X- The Pet Stop

It didn't take Wilson too much time to find the Pet Stop; the building still retained some of its original decorations to spot it even through the fog. "Here, use this in case something attacks you," he said as he handed his newfound travelling companion Kutner's cleaver while arming himself with the handgun. Wilson then tried entering through the main door only to find it locked. "Shit," he reluctantly hissed before asking Amber "Is there another way in?" "The back door I suppose," she replied while shrugging; this was the first time she'd be making this trip.

She then pointed to a slim alleyway between the two buildings with almost no space to allow the two grown adults across. Slowly but steadily, Wilson and Amber shimmied their way to the back lots just in time to hear a disembodied snarl come from inside their intended establishment. The hairs on the oncologist's back rose up when he realized that no one was in the small enclosure other than Amber. "Tell me you heard that," his voice broke in fear, even worse when Volakis nodded with him. "This was a bad idea…"

_Screw it; I broke out of the Hospital just fine,_ he reasoned while carefully opening the door. The Pet Stop was covered in perfect darkness but once Wilson shone his flashlight, he realized it was better off that way; the floor was covered in blood and remains of dead animals ranging from bird feathers to larger bone fragments. "Oh my God…something decimated this place," Wilson thought out loud as he spotted the mangled remains of what he assumed was a man. "We'd better find a key fast or we'll end just like him; we can't get to the church the same we got here," Amber retorted, completely ignoring the dead man and going over to the counter to search around.

Suddenly, both heard the same growl from outside now dangerously close to them, causing the two to flinch with their weapons. _That doesn't sound like a Straightjacket or a Lady Legs…_Wilson analyzed as his broken radio emitted a low but chaotic sound. When he lifted his flashlight towards the source, the silhouette of an emaciated dog rose up the red walls; the dog itself looked as if it was the product of a botched mummification procedure, its jaws salivating uncontrollably.

Amber screamed in terror as the monster hungrily lounged towards Wilson and almost rip out his arm had he not side-stepped in the last second. Using the split-second blind spot, Wilson fired two rounds into the dog, severely debilitating the pitiful creature until he could finish it off by slamming his foot into its neck. "What the hell was that?!" she fearfully inquired while James examined the body; etched on its leathery skin was the name and glared; this thing was House's doing. "Apparently, it's called a Snoopy," he spat back before resuming his search.

Twenty minutes of futile rummaging, neither Amber nor Wilson was any closer to finding a key when the formerly dead woman spotted a metal box. "Hey, I found this…maybe this holds the key," she suggested with hope as she handed it to Wilson. "Stands to reason," he surmised while he cautiously opened the item.

The box was actually a portable safe with a false bottom that had to be unlocked; the top side was decorated to resemble a diorama. The scene depicted had a forest and a finish line but was missing two shapes, one in the form of a rabbit and the other a turtle. Wilson figured it out in less than a second: The Tortoise and the Hare fable. "Amber, I need you to find anything that resembles either a rabbit or a turtle from the cages as fast as you can; I think Snoopy had company," he requested to which Amber swiftly reacted.

Just like clockwork, Wilson found the Tortoise piece in the Reptile cages while Amber located the Hare in the Rabbit cages. With the adrenaline pumping them, both doctors placed their contributions in their respective place; the Tortoise next to the Finish Line while the Hare lagged behind. The diorama clicked gloriously and revealed a small copper key with a tag that read "Cash Reg."

"Great, another puzzle," Amber groaned, her rush quickly dissipating whereas Wilson's lingered. _Of course, House wouldn't have made it so easy…_the oncologist recognized as he sprinted towards the Cash Register. Evidently, there was a lone typed note that read:

_Three men, each with one hundred dead presidents, walk into a judge's table to bribe him in order to avoid jail time for their crimes. _

_The first man says, "I have stolen from many, how much will it take?" The judge says, "To erase your mistake, bring me double the amount."_

_The second man says, "I have raped two girls, how much will it take?" Appalled but not above his corruption, the judge says, "To make these charges, bring me $200 per girl."_

_The third man says, "I have killed a man, how much will it take?" The judge knew this man would be caught anyways but he did need a bit more money, he says "For murder, I charge you six times what you have in your hands."_

"The cash register's the real puzzle here," Wilson assured Amber with a quick nod before he gave the riddle one more read. The story totaled in $1200 but James knew the code wasn't the sum but instead, the adding order. "200, 400, 600," he said as he typed in the numbers. The Cash Register sang a Sales chime and the money drawer popped out with three precious items: handgun ammunition, a key with the Pet Stop's logo and a scrap of paper that read,

_Note on Fire House: We're remodeling the Garage so drop off Snoopy through the Civilians' Area. Key's Chuck's truck, combo 4539_

Both doctors were relieved at such a development; there could be other people besides them. "Thank God we're going somewhere or this might've been another wild goose chase," Amber sighed, "like the time House had us run tests for some patient." Wilson's head snapped back when he heard his girlfriend say that; he knew that patient's case quite well since it was during the diagnostician's search for a new team back in PPTH. "You're remembering!" James exclaimed as he wrapped Volakis in his arms. Amber's eyes lit up at the motion; she did remember something!

Concluding that this search was beneficial, both agreed to continue on to the abandoned Fire House. In their fleeting happiness, they neglected the angry stare of shadows as they exited the Pet Stop. The shadows vanished just as Wilson looked back; he could almost swear someone was watching them leave.


	11. St Stella Church and What Wilson Found

A/N: Sorry I took so long with this but here you go! Wilson's journey takes him to an abandoned church where he meets someone that was directly involved with the so-called "incident" six months prior. Reviews are welcome! characters (C) FOX, Silent Hill (C) KONAMI  


* * *

XI- St. Stella Church and What Wilson Found There

The question as to why the two couldn't enter the Fire House straight away became evident once they arrived there: every entrance had been barricaded with nailed wood planks save for the back door. "Shit!" Wilson spat as he slammed his fist into the hard surface, "we have to through the long way through the church next door." "I told you; don't you think I've tried answering the Clinic phone before?" Amber hissed disapprovingly before walking the relatively short distance to the St. Stella Church.

James shot her a fleeting glare, instantly remembering the one quality he disliked about Amber; she was too condescending towards others. He sighed and followed her to the withering building. St. Stella Church was a relic from the missionary times in Silent Hill; once a whitewashed temple to God's love, now a grimy ghost of itself with most of its stained windows relatively intact. Something with gloss caught the oncologist's eye as he bent down to pick it up. It was a small coin with an image of a stern old man that read in worn-down letters "GOD". "Strange, that should be inside the church…might as well put it back," Wilson told himself as he put the coin in his pocket and went over to help Amber open the church's door.

Once both Amber and Wilson stepped through the heavy oak doors, the scent of mold and overall age overcame the area. The inside of the church wasn't much better than outside; the rows of seats faced the simple altar while two doors stood at opposite sides. What took Wilson aback was not the lack of decorations: in fact, it was the inordinate amount of passages that were scribbled on each wall that was written in a random order:

_The righteous man became a sinner once that drop of blood hit the fertile earth._

_Two men met at a crossroads: one was a righteous noble man of the faith, the other a filthy sinner whose crimes were unmentionable._

_The sinner repented as his last breath escaped his lips, transferring his filth to the pristine hypocrite that murdered him._

_The sinner was thirsty and begged the righteous man for a drink. The righteous man told the other that he had no water to spare such a disgusting example of human kind._

_The sinner insisted and grabbed the righteous man's sleeves. In desperation, the righteous man bludgeoned the sinner with his cane, killing him in three blows._

"I'm going to go ahead and check out any other rooms, ok?" Amber announced to a deeply entranced Wilson before entering through the Bell Room. The story, although short, had captured the oncologist's imagination if only for a minute. _The story's out of order…maybe there's something more to it that just a moral lesson,_ he analyzed; that logic worked just fine in the other puzzles.

Suddenly, Wilson heard himself laugh but the sound hadn't come from his own mouth. The doctor spun around and, in his revelation, dropped his revolver; standing at the end of the hall was a smirking doppelganger. His eyes were wicked, his smile malicious; the copy trotted with the same gait as his own as he said, "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

James was flabbergasted at the sight; how was it possible?! "You must be one of House's tricks, trying to confuse me!" he yelled at his clone, stepping back as far as he could from it. "You wish," the other oncologist hissed, grabbing Wilson by the throat with a choke-hold. "Don't you know who I am?" The entity inquired, watching Wilson squirm and cough for air in his grip.

With the remainder of his energy, Wilson shook his head, causing the doppelganger to release him. "That hurt my feelings, Jimmy…or should I say _our_ feelings," the evil double said, grinned unwavering. "Our…" the one-syllable word made Wilson's mind flash back to the event that had been plaguing him with disjointed memories but all he had for it was static…

The entity disappeared just as Wilson recovered his gun and pointed it to the empty church. _He looked just like me…I know him from somewhere but I just can't remember where!_ He thought with a hint of anxiety; he truly was going insane. "I'm hallucinating now," the oncologist concluded; whatever he had was progressing extremely fast.

"Hey! I found something!" Amber's voice broke the emerging cycle of self-pity, pushing back the dark thoughts. The once dead woman was tugging at the entrance for the Priest's Quarters when Wilson arrived. "I found a note that said that the key to the Fire House was in here but this thing won't budge!" she explained with a pout; this was just overkill! The door was shut tight with a deadbolt and a broken door knob, thanks to someone with considerable strength trying to break through. "Don't tell me we have to find the key to this thing!"

Wilson shrugged slightly as he replied, "This is House, remember? He enjoys screwing with people." At the foot of the altar he was looking was a bloodied case with five numerical dials from 1 to 6, a combination lock of sorts with a simple sentence: _Follow My Law_. The story then made sense; it was referring to what James referred to as House's Law: People are self-righteous to a fault.

"The story's out of order for a reason," he reasoned out loud, causing Amber to ask, "What story?" "The one written on the church walls," the oncologist replied while dialing the combination 5-1-4-2-3. The formerly dead woman looked around but she saw no such verses on the white walls. "You sure?" "Positive," Wilson retorted just as the lock clicked alive and revealed a small key with a white cross in its keychain.

The doctor inserted the key into the deadbolt and gave it a half-twist. From the other side of the sturdy oak door, Wilson heard a scratching noise whereas his pocket radio broke out in perfectly segmented static. There's a monster in here…but it has order to it? He thought as he slowly peeked inside the Priest's Quarters and immediately shuddered. The small area was a bloody mess, comparable to the Pig Surgeon's ward back at Brookhaven Hospital. "Oh my God…"

The perfectly ordered white noise continued wailing quietly in Wilson's pocket as he and Amber entered the massacre. "The key to the Fire House has to be here," Amber said through her trembling voice, Kutner's cleaver ready to hack anything to pieces. "I know," he gulped; insane or not, this was pretty fucked up.

But what stood out in the mutilated quarters was a brightly colored painting hanging of what Wilson quickly deducted was the Christian Apocalypse: wicked men being burned alive as the devil dragged them to hell while God smite him. The artwork's frame was crooked and once both doctors removed it, it revealed a large iron safe with a most peculiar mechanism. The door had three shallow and circular dents, two of which already had their respective coins: one of a man and the other of a devil.

The God coin! It's the key for this safe; the cancer specialist came up as he took out the God coin and placed it in its slot. The safe then slowly opened to present the pair with not only the key to the Fire House but also two documents that even at first glance were overpowering for Wilson. One was a medical file that read "Details on (Mystery Patient)" and the other was a stained envelope entitled "Gregory House's Confession".

But before he could either a read, the static jumped to screeching as the scratching became audible. Arising from the priest's mutilated corpse was a slithering creature constructed from two people: a man on the bottom half and a woman on the top, their limbs now behaving and functioning like spider legs. The monster's features took Wilson aback: the man's face bore a nearly exact resemblance to Eric Foreman while the woman was none other than Remy "Thirteen" Hadley._ Traitors_,was the word that came into James' mind as the monster crawled towards them.

Amber wasted no time to analyze the creature and with a scream, stabbed and slashed it to the point that blood was flying everywhere. "Amber, stop! The thing's dead!" Wilson had to pull her back before she hurt herself but what he saw gave him more chills than the monster: for a split second, she was grinning ear to ear with incredible wickedness radiating from her. "Survival of the fittest, Wilson," Amber said in House's voice before she snapped back to her old self. "Let's get out of here!" she screamed as she pulled the stunned man out of St. Stella Church before any other monster could catch up to them


	12. House's Confession

A/N: Again, sorry for the sluggish update but I haven't been able to play SH2 in a long time but this last season has been perfect for me to write with. This all takes place after "Teamwork"; reviews are welcome! characters (c) David Shore, Silent Hill (c) KONAMI  


* * *

XII House's Confession

After escaping the massacre at St. Stella Church, Amber then led her former boyfriend through the oppressive fog to a small enclosure between the temple and the Fire House where they were able to catch their breaths. "We'll be safe here; what did you take from that safe?" she asked, as if requesting a look at the documents Wilson took from the Priest's Quarters. Instinctively, Wilson refused her unspoken request, fearing that Amber would become as unstable as Kutner. "I can't really say…they look like a sick man's ramblings," he replied as honestly as he could before resuming his reading.

House's confession was divided into three parts, each for a different audience:

_To whom it may concern: I DID IT. I'm responsible for the deaths of my coworkers as brought upon by the Messenger. I am responsible for the demise of so many people that when you go there, there won't be a landfill deep enough to fit the corpses…_

_Cuddy, you know as well as I do that I am a hopeless case. The delusions we have about that incident never happening again will bite us back in the ass soon enough. The fabric of our very thoughts is coming apart again; I can see it in your eyes…_

_Wilson, I'm taking the blame for you…but don't you dare think you're as sane as you think you are. Amber's death was as much as your fault as it was mine. Follow the liar's trail and you'll be (the rest of the document had been ripped off)_

"What the hell is House talking about?" slipped out of Wilson's lips but Amber paid no attention to it. Another reference to an 'incident' that I still can't remember! Does it have to do with the other Me? The oncologist then switched documents to the one labeled "Details on Mystery Patient". Wilson instantly recognized the charts as those issued in Princeton-Plainsboro and written in House's handwriting, making for what they read all the more disturbing:

_Patient has been subdued but the unconscious mind is very much active and has begun to manifest itself on physical objects. Requesting use of MRI to investigate further; allow recording of the session for future study…_

_The patient started with a small bout of sleep-talking and sleepwalking but the pathology of this behavior cannot be appropriately traced back to family: possibly related to trauma._

"Coast is clear," Amber announced while standing up and taking Kutner's bloody cleaver in her hands. The statement alerted Wilson of his present situation but his readings had a profound impact on his perceptions about it. The MRI video was the closest thing he would have of House actually telling him what exactly was wrong with him. With the key to the Fire House's Civilian Entrance at hand, the couple sprinted as fast as they could, avoiding any straightjackets in their path.

The door clicked open instantly but that brought no comfort for either doctor as the musty air escaped the perpetually dark building. Reloading his gun, Wilson turned on his flashlight and, for a moment, he heard a child giggle from the farthest reaches of the fire station. "So where's the Clinic key?" Amber inquired, tiptoeing behind her boyfriend's every step and keeping watch of whatever movement seemed out of place. "The note from the pet shop said to check out 'Chuck's truck'," the oncologist replied as he lit up the building's cramped hallways until they reached a fork.

Each hall was labeled for their function: to the left was the Garage while the right read "Chief's office"; either way echoed with the Snoopy's hissing growl. The giggles came from the Garage; right where the fire truck should be with the clinic key…Wilson thought exasperated at what he perceived to be House's sick sense of humor. "I think you should go to the Chief's office; I'll get the key," he stated, his tone oozing with contempt towards the missing diagnostician and what he would attempt on Amber.

The younger doctor nodded in response and gave James a light kiss on the lips, as if to say, "I'll be fine" before disappearing into the right hall. With his flashlight on and his broken radio spouting the same low garbled mess that he now associated with the dog creature, Wilson crept up the left hallway until he arrived at the "EXIT" door. The door had a small yet bloody keypad lock, to which the oncologist dialed in the numbers the Pet Stop memo…"4539".

Once the door lock clicked dead, Wilson raised his weapon towards the sound of boyish giggles and loud snarling as he entered the fire truck garage. "House, y-you in here?" his voice shook for a second but it was enough to silence the boy's laughter. "Why can't you listen to me like these stupid dogs?" Greg's childish voice reverberated as the animalistic sounds grew louder.

Almost instantly, three Snoopys threw themselves at Wilson, pushing him to the ground and all trying to rip out his throat. The man screamed and thrashed about violently, launching one of the demonic dogs into one of the fire trucks' tires with a lucky kick. Wilson then managed to shoot one through the lower jaw, obliterating its head instantly while he struggled with the last of the creatures. The last Snoopy fled the scene, frightened at its pack mates' deaths, allowing Wilson to stand up and compose himself.

Chuck's fire truck was laden with crayon doodles, depicting various grotesque ways to die in the town from being eaten by the Straightjackets to being killed by a shadow named "Bad Wilson". _The other me wasn't a hallucination; he's actually real?!_ The oncologist thought for second before his iPhone beeped awake with a text message: _Read Me_.

"You better not be setting me up for another trap, House," Wilson spat, getting another text message as a response: _Don't I ever? :)_ With a new sense of direction and with the chance to get some comprehensible answers, James searched around the driver's cabin and after two endless minutes, finally found what he had been looking for: a key with the tag "RDGWY CLNC" along with another note written on PPTH paper. This document, however, was not written by the diagnostician but by Lisa Cuddy.

_Opinion on Patient (the name had been blotted out once more)_

_After running standard tests, Patient is determined to be quite healthy of not for a higher concentration of endorphins. Dr. House has suggested visual therapy to alleviate psychotic breaks with reality but there are no pictures or evidence of the event that caused the psychosis. I refused the treatment for fear of a stronger resurgence but Dr. House insists._


End file.
